


Practice Makes Perfect

by thecosmickid



Series: ASATS One-Shots [4]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-17
Updated: 2018-01-17
Packaged: 2019-03-05 22:46:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,562
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13397868
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thecosmickid/pseuds/thecosmickid
Summary: Nebula's feelings get the best of her.  Kraglin counts himself lucky to be on the receiving end.





	Practice Makes Perfect

**Author's Note:**

> Took a break from Chapter 3 of ASATS to whip out a little gift for the lovely Curiositydidmein on her birthday! She asked for some Kragula and I was happy to oblige.

"For what it's worth, I think the girls really like you."

Nebula stared at Kraglin over the rim of her mug as she took a long swallow of ale.  In a measured way she replied, "It doesn't matter if they  _ like _ me.  So long as they respect me."

Kraglin chewed his tongue.  "The Fang really looks up to you."

Nebula barely responded.  She had turned her gaze to the porthole, watching distant stars flash past outside.  They were well on their way to Knowhere- the closest thing they had to a haunt.  They were returning now to follow up on their latest job: transporting several dozen heads of prized Nornian livestock to a private buyer on Spartax.  Nebula had always known that she didn’t care for animals, but this mission had only cemented that dislike.  She had a bruise the size of a dinner plate on her thigh from a well-aimed kick by one of the wretched creatures.  Another of them had bitten Kraglin’s fingers nearly off.  He was resting his swollen hand on the table as they spoke.

“She sure has got potential,” the man was saying.  “She’s a natural liar.  And she can fight.”

“I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Kraglin gave a nervous sort of chuckle.  "Yeah, you sure know how to keep 'em in line.  There's no foolin' around when you go on marks with 'em."

Still, she was quiet.  Kraglin swallowed audibly before taking a long swig of beer.  "This reminds me of the old days," he went on eventually.  "Me n'Yondu used to sit around in his quarters drinking and planning new jobs.  Sometimes Peter helped out, but he used to get distracted."

He watched her face carefully; she had taken up a distant look, her eyes glassy and fixed somewhere behind him.  He knew that meant she was thinking deeply about something- and so he restrained himself from speaking any further.

At last she seemed to realize that he was awaiting her response.  "Mm," she replied.

Kraglin was not put off.  This was the type of conversation he had accustomed himself to over the past few years; Nebula was a woman of few words.  He supposed he more than made up for what she lacked in verbosity.

She said, "Were you worried about the girls?"

He shrugged.  "A little.  Those cow-things were ornery.  But they seem like they can take care of themselves."

Suddenly, she looked about as pleased as it seemed her face would allow.  Her black eyes seemed to twinkle the way they did when she was plotting.  Her mouth was less a thin, hard line than usual.  "They have all proven themselves more than capable.  So I'm going to train them to fight."

"Fight?" Kraglin echoed helplessly.  "Well, they already sort of know how to fight, don't they?"

"No, I mean I'm going to give them formal training.  Perhaps I can convince Gamora to help me, if she isn't too busy with her brat."

"That'd be nice," Kraglin replied.  "You two need to get some sisterly bonding in."

Nebula drained her mug of beer and tossed it aside.  Kraglin wished he had been paying attention to how much she'd drunk- she was no lightweight, but from the way she was looking at him now, he guessed she had enough.

"Maybe you ought to head to bed," he said carefully, pushing his own mug aside.

She narrowed her eyes at him.  "Are you trying to tell your captain what to do, First Mate?"

Kraglin shook his head quickly.  "Just a suggestion, ma'am, I didn't mean no disrespect."

Nebula heaved a sigh and said at great length, "Damn it, you're cute when your grovelling."

He looked up in surprise. "I am?"

She cocked her head, smirking a little.  "Fortunately for you, yes."

Kraglin chewed the inside of his cheek, not sure what to make of her.  She had never looked at him like this before- not to his knowledge, at least.

"I think you drank too much," he said quietly, reaching out with measured care.  He knew she didn't take kindly to sudden movements.

Her eyes flashed.  "I'm not drunk."

She was watching him the way a cat might watch a small bird- cold and predatory.  It made a pleasant shiver go up his back.  He could tell from the even intensity of the stare that she meant what she said.  It took more than a few mugs of watery Kree ale to impair her judgement.   _ She had meant what she said _ .

He found himself getting to his feet almost reflexively.  He wasn’t afraid, of course- he felt the same way about her that she was now professing to feel about him.  But her behavior was strange, and it unnerved him.  But before he could make any move to escape, she had closed the gap between them.  He started slightly.  He had a few inches on her, but that just put her at the perfect height to look up at him with those fierce, black eyes.  His heart was pounding in his ears.

“I’ve been lying to myself for too long,” she said quietly.  “I thought these feelings made me weak.  But…” She paused to take a breath through her mouth, as if she were tasting the air for his scent.  “Maybe I have to let myself be weak sometimes.”

He was vaguely aware of her hand coming to rest on the back of his neck.  Her skin was cool and smooth.  She was grabbing the back of his head, fingers weaving into the hair there.  He allowed their faces to be pushed together in a clumsy, painful way.  His teeth bumped hers, which made him wince, but she didn’t seem to care.  She had set herself on a goal- and although he was still uncertain of what exactly that was, she was going to achieve it.

_ And who am I to stand in her way? _ He thought.

He slid an arm around her waist while the opposite hand came up to touch her jaw.  This was a jarring development, going from scarcely being able to touch her, to locked in a passionate embrace.  Something had gotten into her, for sure.  For a moment he pulled away, his chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, and he wheezed, “Are you sure you wanna do this?”

She smirked.  “Do I seem in any way unsure to you?”

Satisfied, he resumed kissing her.  Neither of them were especially practiced at this; but bumping noses and clicking teeth were lost to a blind storm of sudden affection.  He had longed for years to touch her like this, and from the ferocity of her kiss, she had been longing too.  That notion brought him a rush of satisfaction that sent his fingers searching for the zipper of her vest.  When he fumbled with it, she reached to help him.  Shrugging the leather garment off, she pulled away from the kiss a moment to pull her shirt off over her head.  Kraglin took a long moment to look at her, to admire her.  She had small, pert breasts with nipples so dark blue they were nearly black.  Her breastbone was split horizontally by a metallic silver plate, much like the one over her eye.

“Done gawking?” She asked.  “Your turn.”

Almost reflexively he was throwing his jacket off, unbuttoning his undershirt.  When he reached for the buckle of his belt, however, she held up a hand.  “Wait.  Not yet.”  She slid a finger through his belt loop and pulled him forcibly from where they stood by the table to her bed.  It was little more than a cot, because she refused anything more comfortable.  She swung him effortlessly around and fairly threw him onto the mattress, where he sat watching her and wondering what she was planning next.

“Gamora always wanted to talk about this kind of thing when we were younger,” Nebula said in a tone that made it sound as though she were talking to herself.  “She was always good at it.  She had a natural talent for most things, even… this.”

Kraglin tried to nod understandingly, but was dismayed that Nebula seemed like she was headed off on another tangent about her sister.  But then she was getting on her knees in front of him, grabbing his thighs with almost bruising force.  He felt a thrill go through him, from the top of his head straight down to the base of his cock.  She worked her fingers into the buckle of his belt, sliding it easily out of the loops.  When it was unfastened, she unzipped his pants, grabbing fistfuls of the cloth to pull them down.

“Take it easy, there,” he said quietly.

“Am I scaring you?” She replied.  “Don’t worry.  I’m not completely inexperienced.”  As if to prove her words true, she slipped her fingers under the waistband of his boxers and pulled those down as well.  She sat back a little to study him.  “Not bad,” she said at last.

Kraglin grinned.  “You like it?”

“I don’t exactly have a wide frame of reference.  But it’s not ugly.”

“Fair enough.”  He let a soft breath out as she leaned in and took the head of his cock between her lips.  That was as far as she went for a few moments, lingering on the sensitive tip and the ridge of flesh below.  He knitted his brow with pleasure.  When she took him a little deeper, he let a small groan escape him.  Her eyes flashed up to his face for a moment before she looked away again.  One hand came up to grasp the base of his cock, giving him a gentle squeeze.

“You’re doin’ great,” he said eventually, and again her eyes came to his face.  This time they stayed there, seeming to gaze into his soul.  He gave a little shiver of delight.

Then, suddenly, she was withdrawing.  She got to her feet, stepping back to unzip and drop her leather breeches.  She kicked them aside, and soon her underwear followed.  Fully naked, she was even more beautiful.  Her body was more womanly than her leather fatigues let on, all muscle in her midsection and thighs.  Kraglin chewed his lip, feeling light-headed.

She had moved around the bed to her nightstand and was rifling through the drawers.  “I got this,” she said at last, proffering a small bottle of lube.  “Gamora said it would help.”

“You told her?” Kraglin asked.

“Not everything.  I just wanted some advice.”

He nodded, taking the bottle.  “Well, this will sure help.”

She placed a hand on either of his shoulders and pushed him back onto the bed.  Then she was climbing up to sit astride him.  He looked down, revelling in the beauty of her powerful legs, the cleft of flesh between them, as she straddled him.  Wordlessly he poured a palmful of lubricant and reached to work it over his cock.

“Is this your first time?” He asked, wiping his hand on the bedsheet.

“No,” she said sharply, although he doubted she would have told him even if it was.  She had a curious sense of pride like that.

She took a few moment, it seemed, to mentally prepare herself.  Then she was bracing herself on Kraglin’s shoulders once more, raising her pelvis.  He grabbed himself and guided his cock to its destination- as it slid into her, she made a small and clearly involuntary sound.

“Did that hurt?” He asked.

“No,” she replied once more, although with less of an edge in her voice this time.  “No, it feels fine.”

He shrugged.  “Don’t keep going if you don’t want to.”

“I don’t need the coaching.”

Obediently he shut his mouth.  As if rewarding him for his sensibility, she gave one roll of her hips.  He could not contain an ecstatic hum.  This seemed to encourage her to continue- soon she had fallen into a steady rhythm.  The power she had built up with years of training and daily exercise was evident now- she barely even seemed to be exerting herself.  She looked down at Kraglin, who was panting and with sweat already beading on his forehead, almost triumphantly.  He let his hands travel over her body, caressing her firm breasts and rubbing circles over her nipples.  As his touch moved down over her belly, she flinched slightly.  He paused, but she said at once, “No, don’t stop.”

So he moved from her navel down to the smooth hairless cleft, sliding one finger between the folds of skin.  He felt her tense around him and saw her eyes flutter.  He smiled up at her as she increased the speed of her movements.  She was intensely hot.  He closed his eyes and let his head roll back on his neck.  “Goddamn,” he murmured.  “That’s good.”

She was grabbing at him once more now, rising off of him and pulling him upright.  He watched in dismay and confusion, until she had laid on the bed before him.

“I want you to fuck me,” she said, the words coming off her tongue in a purr.

He didn’t need to be told twice.  He had fallen on her, grasping her with wild, mindless passion.  He kissed her mouth, then her neck, her collarbone, between her breasts.  His lips brushed cold metal.  His hands kneaded her breasts tenderly.  Then he had slid back into her and begun to thrust quickly.  Now he could watch her face, enjoy her reactions.  He had never seen her expression so soft and peaceful, he thought- not even while she was sleeping.  

While he was thrusting, he moved his touch between her legs once more, massaging her in gentle circles.  Her pelvis flexed and she let out a hiss between her teeth.  “Fuck,” she exclaimed.  Her enjoyment was pushing him closer and closer to the edge, but he hung on with a grim determination.  He was going to finish her off first if it killed him.

Thankfully, she was more than obliging.  As his teeth closed on her collarbone and his fingers worked expertly, she gave another sound- this time, high and loud.  She was spasming around him, her legs suddenly tight as a vise around his hips.  He laughed with pleasure, leaning into her all the more firmly.  Her convulsions stimulated him the rest of the way to his own climax.  He buried his face in her neck while he came, mouth open and eyes nearly rolled back.

A moment passed.  They both seemed to become aware of each other again, coming to soaked with sweat and trembling slightly.  Kraglin pushed himself upward and looked down at Nebula.  He had bitten a violet mark on her, and looked at it with pride.  She was glossy-eyed now, almost sleepy.  She pushed him gently away and sat up.

“What’d you think?” He asked hesitantly.

She stood, putting the lube back in the drawer before reaching to grab a towel hanging from a peg.  “It was good,” she said.  “But I understand what Gamora said about it all those years ago now.  It is a little like sparring.”

“A little, I guess,” Kraglin replied, collapsing noisily onto the bed.

“I always thought she meant that it was violent and aggressive.  But now I see that she meant it takes practice.”

He laughed a little.  “Yeah.  But I reckon we’ve got plenty of time.”


End file.
